Zero Motorcycles has finally filled its vacant CEO position, announcing that Samuel Paschel will take over the reigns at the electric motorcycle company, and replacing Richard Walker who left Zero in July 2016.
A newcomer to the motorcycle industry, Paschel has a product development focused resume, and most recently was the Chief Commercial Officer at Skullcandy. He has also held management and leadership positions at Burton Snowboards and Giro Sports Design.
Guy Martin’s return to the road racing at the Isle of Man TT continues to draw big headlines, and while we already know that the Lincolnshire man would partner with John McGuinness on the factory Honda Racing team of this year’s TT, that’s not all.
Today, we learn that Guy Martin will partner with John McGuinness on another team as well, and he will once again take the seat on an electric bike for the TT Zero class in the process. As such, Martin has been confirmed as Team Mugen’s second rider, replacing Bruce Anstey in the squad.
When you think of the Piaggio Group, in terms of its two-wheeled creations, your thoughts probably conjure up images of motorcycles made by Aprilia or Moto Guzzi, or maybe a scooter with a Vespa badge on it.
Surely, the Gita is not what first comes first to your mind, but it might be the most impactful idea from the Italian brand to-date.
Sure, the brightly colored self-balancing rolling cylinder doesn’t seem like much of a novel creation, even with its ability to follow its owner, or autonomously navigate a prescribed route. But then again, you have probably been carrying stuff around in our arms, or on your back, like a big sucker.
Capable of hauling 40 lbs in what looks like a sizable bin, the Piaggio Gita has huge implications for the disabled or elderly, but it also could change the way the status quo carries and transports things in the future.
News out Japan sees Honda and Hitachi starting a joint venture that will focus on providing motors for electric vehicles.
The two companies signed today what they call a “memorandum of understanding, which is the Japanese business version of getting a promise ring to start a future company together.
The still unnamed joint venture will be located in Hitachinaka City in the Ibaraki Prefecture, and be initially capitalized with ¥5 billion (~$44 million).
The One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon is just a couple weeks away, an event where hipsters and custom bike builder will come together to celebrate all things two-wheeled. One of the show’s sponsors this year is electric startup Alta Motors, and they will be debuting a street tracker concept to the masses.
The concept bike is built off Alta’s Redshift platform, with changes made to the bodywork (made via rapid prototyping), lowered suspension, and an LED headlight, along with the addition of 19″ carbon fiber BST wheels shod in flat-tracking rubber.
As a concept, the Redshift ST still has some evolving to do before it can be a production model, but it shows that Alta Motors is considering adding something to its lineup that resonates with a younger, more urban crowd (The One Moto Show being a prime spot to test those waters).
More importantly perhaps, the Redshift ST could a model to Alta’s lineup that has a seat height below 32″ – a key dimension when it comes to making motorcycles accessible to a wider variety of riders, both in terms of physical height and experience level.
If you are in the market for an electric motorcycle (or any road-legal electric vehicle, for that matter), you have only a few more days to take advantage of the federal tax credit that comes with the purchase of these machines.
For potential electric motorcycle buyers, that means the 10% federal savings (some states offer their own incentives as well) will only be available for purchases made for the remaining four days of 2016.
Once January 1st, 2017 rolls up on the calendar, electric motorcycles will cost their full freight. How this will affect the space though, remains to be seen.
In a world with increasingly stringent emission and noise standards, vehicle OEMs are continuously tasked with making their automobiles and motorcycles quieter.
Such regulations have brought us some ridiculous creations in the motorcycle realm, especially for the Japanese and European market, but changes are afoot here in the United States as well.
Today, we bring you such news, but it’s probably not the news that you think. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has just set a standard that will see electric automobiles getting louder, instead of quieter, in the name of vehicle safety.
But oddly enough, the new rule does not apply to electric motorcycles…for now.
It has been a while since we have seen an electric motorcycle that caught out fancy – you know, one that looked like it was made by someone who actually understands motorcycles, and isn’t just gunning for a spot at Art Center.
There is this notion in the electric world that just because powertrains are evolving, that we need to throw the baby out with the bath water as wellwhen it comes to design.
But, when I think about the electric motorcycle builds that have caught my attention the most, it is the ones that understand this concept at their core – good examples being bikes like the Mission R, Alta Motors Redshift SM, or Vespa Elettrica.
Add another name to that list now, as the E-Racer from Aero Motorcycles is a truly beautiful two-wheeled machine, and it runs on electrons, not hydrocarbons.
When it comes to scooters, no name is better known than Vespa, as the iconic Italian brand is recognizable around the world, with 18 million scooters carrying the Vespa name in cities globally.
It is of note then that Vespa has jumped onto the electric bandwagon, and unveiled its first electric scooter this week at EICMA. As such, we get our first look today of the Vespa Elettrica, which will be for sale in the latter part of 2017.
Not quite ready for production at this time though, Vespa says that it will be working with leaders in the electric drivetrain business to develop the Elettrica, making the scooter shown at EICMA more of a concept than a finalized vehicle.
However, the Italian company promises that the Vespa Elettrica will continue to bring the attributes the brand is known best for – which in our mind hinges mostly on its classic Italian styling. To that goal, we say mission accomplished.
When it comes to the technology that Energica uses to make its electric motorcycles, we can sing only strong praises. The Italian firm has one of the best electric motorcycle packages on the market.
However when it comes to more subjective matters, like the styling of their machines, we find Energica’s designs to be challenging to enjoy, if not sometimes impalpable.
The Energica Ego superbike and the Eva streetfighter are not the most beautiful machines we have ever seen, though their designs do grow on you over time.
We don’t think we will be making the same concessions about the Energica Esse Esse 9 concept though, which debuted at EICMA today.
It looks like we will get to see a new electric motorcycle at the EICMA show in Milan, as Energica says it will debut a new electric motorcycle concept at the Italian trade show.
Saying in its press release that the new concept will be “an evolution of design and technologies already adopted on Energica models. The company with this new concept will approach the most recent motorcycle market trends.”
Beyond this, Energica is being very tight lipped about the new machine. As such, it is not clear what kind of motorcycle Energica will actually unveil.